I’m thinking of upgrading my LowRider v3 to v4 (or selling the v3 after building a new v4) and I’d appreciate advice on a few aspects of the build.
For the LR3 I had trouble finding EMT conduit at local hardware stores that was straight enough. Is this less of an issue with the 1" EMT on the LR4, or should I consider using DOM or stainless tube? How would I find the appropriate product for sale (I’m in the Midwest USA)?
I would like to build a better table as well. Does anyone have a nice design for a table that will fold or flip out of the way? I have a working (ish) LR3 that I can use to help build this.
I know this is an open-ended question with no “right” answer, but what’s a good machine size for general hobby use? I got ambitious with the LR3 and went for full sheet but I’ve started to resent how much space it takes up in my garage. Am I likely to regret building the LR4 to, say, a 3’x4’ or 3’x5’ work area? I don’t have one specific type of project in mind for this machine; I think everything I’ve done so far on the LR3 and everything on my “project ideas” list would still fit easily. Have any of you found particular “magic sizes” short of a full sheet?
I have no real complaints with the Makita router, but should I switch to the Kobalt router with ER-11 compatibility? (If I sell the Makita as part of the old machine then I can switch for not very much money.)
I have not had much trouble finding straight 1" emt at the local big box stores. We lay it on the ground and roll it, if it rolls straight we get it, if not it goes back on the rack. So far I have bought over 10 joints and had no issues finding strait ones.
Size depends on what you are doing with it. My self personally I cut a LOT of sheet plywood so I prefer the full sheet size. But the Machine I built for the LR4 beta is a 3’ x 5’ machine and its a real nice size as well. So if you aren’t using the full sheet capabilities of your current machine then there is no downside to making your LR4 a smaller machine. That will make it a little stronger as well.
Unless you already have a Kobalt there is no reason to switch. The Kobalt didn’t stay in production and to find one now they are not cheap and not worth the expense when you already have a good router.
I also upgraded from a LR3 to LR4, and it has been a great improvement, would definitely recommend doing so.
In regards to the EMT, I have used whatever Lowes/Home depot had in stock at the time. I looked down the length of the pipe to try and find the straightest one of the bunch (similar to checking if construction lumber is warped/twisted when buying that). I am not sure how great of an impact the overall straightness/roundness of the pipe matters, someone with more knowledge can chime in and speak on that. However I can say I have had no issues on both my LR3/LR4 with the standard Lowe’s EMT I’ve used.
For table design, there is a build thread on here called “black and blue LR3” or something similar I believe by “Neil” (sorry for not remembering exactly which build thread it is .) I basically copied his design with a few differences on my LR3 and it was super nice to be able to flip it up out of the way.
For size, since you are in the US, 2ftx4ft is a good build area because you can get quarter sheets of plywood/mdf/etc. locally. Obviously this depends on what you plan on doing, but being able to just put a sheet on without having to trim to begin with is great. And having the 2ft be the x axis is nice because it makes the overall build a bit more rigid than a full sheet build.
My thinking on doing a new machine vs. the upgrade kit is that it would be a shame to undo all the work I did building the LR3 just to harvest a few commodity parts like motors and bearings. If I am already getting new printed parts, conduit, struts, controller, XZ plates, etc. then I might as well build a whole new machine, sell the old one and have one more working LowRider in the world And I bet I can get enough for it to basically bring the cost in line with the upgrade kit.
I think I’ll use PET-CF for the new machine as I had problems with the hot router warping PLA (admittedly, that might be my fault for setting too much depth of cut during surfacing). I also worry about PLA becoming brittle with humidity cycling in my Midwest garage.
Has anyone built a LowRider table that doubles as a general-purpose workbench? Mine ends up being used that way anyway, so it would be good to see what can be done to make it nicer to use.
On the LR3 it was possible to relocate the Y belt(s) to the side of the table, albeit with a corresponding loss of rigidity. That made it possible to use the table as a general work platform without needing to remove the belts.
On the LR4 that isn’t possible, so you just need to remove the belts by slipping the belt holder from the retaining block and you can use the table without the belts getting in the way.
Looks great, but that’s no full sheet machine, and I doubt that it can be scaled up to full sheet size. I mean unles that dude is 8 feet tall, that looks like 30" square at best.
Also, you can’t use that table as a workbench without a lot more work than removing a belt, so…
Any horizontal surface in my workshop gets used as a workbench. It’s as inevitable as entropy. Even the Primo table gets used that way, and it’s terribly inconvenient. For the LR3, I didn’t put the belt below the edge, but… didn’t see it as a big deal. Often I just stand at the YMax end to use the part of the table there. I don’t see it being different with the LR4. I do find that the belt holder gets in the way somethings, but that’s how it is.
with the small LR4 that I have, I’ve found that I can put an Ikea LINNMON desktop on top of the spoilboard, and it sits hogh enough to clear the belt and holder, giving me a flat surface larger than the spoilboard, and extending out past the belts. Handy. It won’t work for the larger one (That I can finally build now that my V1 order from early November finally arrived. – A month long postal strike kind of grinched my plans…)
Sounds like it’s reasonable to build and should be able to remain flat enough. Looks good.
A bottom to the table will help with making the table a torsion box when assembled which will make it much more rigid. This is helpful but not necessary. (Heck I’m using a sheet of plywood.) So long as the runners will support the machine and the machine itself is reasonably flat, it will be fine.
Reasonably flat varies by what you want to do. Cutting sheet goods, a mm or two of variance probably fine, though that can cause problems with stuff like V-carving large signs, or doing large 2.5D cuts (like putting long dado grooves in a workpiece.) Like I said, I use a sheet of plywood, and it’s fine.
.) I basically copied his design with a few differences on my LR3 and it was super nice to be able to flip it up out of the way.
And I bet I can get enough for it to basically bring the cost in line with the upgrade kit.
